{"id":32356,"date":"2026-02-12T23:14:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T07:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/connected-learning\/?p=32356"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:15:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T22:15:05","slug":"exploring-the-boundless-expanse-of-the-universe-and-the-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/connected-learning\/news\/2026\/02\/12\/exploring-the-boundless-expanse-of-the-universe-and-the-self","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the boundless expanse of the universe \u2014 and the self\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What started as a spontaneous elective choice turned into a full-fledged research career for Liliana Flores, a UW Bothell Physics graduate from the class of 2025.

After taking an Introduction to Astronomy course taught by Dr. Paola Rodr\u00edguez Hidalgo, Flores was hooked. Her curiosity and enthusiasm for communicating science earned her a spot in Rodr\u00edguez Hidalgo’s research group, where she dove into the study of quasars and supermassive black hole outflows. She went on to attend a prestigious James Webb Space Telescope workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute, where she built global connections and gained skills that proved critical to co-authoring a JWST research proposal alongside her mentor.

Flores continues working as a research technologist on the team, recently presenting their work at an international collaboration in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her ultimate goal is to make physics and astronomy more accessible as an educator.

Visit our website to learn more about Research and Creative Projects<\/a> and see how UW Bothell students are pushing the boundaries of discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
continue reading the article<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What started as a spontaneous elective choice turned into a full-fledged research career for Liliana Flores, a UW Bothell Physics graduate from the class of 2025. After taking an Introduction to Astronomy course taught by Dr. Paola Rodr\u00edguez Hidalgo, Flores was hooked. Her curiosity and enthusiasm for communicating science earned her a spot in Rodr\u00edguez…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":628,"featured_media":32358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"school":[],"class_list":["post-32356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connected-learning","category-research-and-creative-projects-for-undergrads"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Research and Creative Projects","email":"uwbur@uw.edu","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Connected Learning","email":"uwbocl@uw.edu","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nExploring the boundless expanse of the universe \u2014 and the self\u00a0 - Office of Connected Learning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/connected-learning\/news\/2026\/02\/12\/exploring-the-boundless-expanse-of-the-universe-and-the-self\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exploring the boundless expanse of the universe \u2014 and the self\u00a0 - Office of Connected Learning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What started as a spontaneous elective choice turned into a full-fledged research career for Liliana Flores, a UW Bothell Physics graduate from the class of 2025. 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